Why I don't think Katherine Heigl owes anyone an apology

Jaclyn is an Idaho native who currently lives in Milwaukee. Having worked in radio, TV and as a newspaper reporter, she is an avid pop culture and news junkie. She also has a passion for photography and cooking (but is still learning to ...

Katherine Heigl deserves a second chance and here's why

Katherine Heigl's career has been somewhat of a roller coaster ride for the past few years — and not in a good way. After landing her role on Grey's Anatomy, she became the romantic comedy poster child. But then she disappeared.

Heigl moved with her husband, Josh Kelley, to Utah to raise their two children, explaining that she was not a fan of Hollywood. She slammed movies and shows she had been in, even calling Knocked Up "a little sexist" and explaining that Grey's Anatomy wasn't good enough for an Emmy. She became known as an actress with an attitude and one who no one wanted to work with.

The actress realizes now that her naïveté led to her sharing opinions she should have kept to herself. She told E! News, "If I'm going to voice my opinion and I'm going to speak my mind, I better be very clear about what my intentions are when I say it. It should never be flippant or carelessly tossed out there."

But she also realized that her opinion — any opinion — has value and she is no longer OK with keeping those inside. Becoming a mother changed Heigl and she realized who she was becoming was something she didn't want to teach her daughters. She wants to make sure they voice their opinions without being ashamed of it.

"I spent time trying to be more of a publicity packaged thing, and I just couldn't," she said. "I couldn't sleep at night. It kept me up. It felt so dishonest to me and it felt like such a cop out, like me saying that I am inherently wrong about how I feel about things or I am inherently wrong if I have something to say. I don't like that for my daughters. I don't like that for my girlfriends. I don't like that for any woman in this world to be made to feel like that.

"You voice your opinion and you are made to feel like if someone disagrees with you, that now you're a bad person? Above all else, you have to be able to respect yourself."

Heigl was in her 20s when she won the role of a lifetime and she has become a new person since that day. She shouldn't have to keep apologizing for some comments she made years ago — and maybe she shouldn't have ever felt like she had to apologize at all.

Being a strong woman with an opinion shouldn't be reason enough to feel ashamed in your profession and it's about time we see Heigl for the talented actress that she is.

You can see Katherine Heigl in her new show, State of Affairs, premiering Nov. 17.